The author analyses presumption of innocence in the media’s reporting of the judicial procedures. The principle of presumption of innocence says that the accused will be considered not guilty, unless his guilt will be proved in the final judgment of the court. This principle is written down in art. 42.2 of the Polish Constitution and art. 5 § 2 of the criminal procedure code. The above principle concerns all people, i.e. authorities of criminal process, police, administration agencies and even simple citizens. The Polish press law prohibits publication of personal data of the accused without the consent of public prosecutor or court as well as data of the injured person and witnesses without their consent. The press law also prohibits to prejudge the guilt of the accused before his conviction by the court of first instance. Alas, there are numerous cases of violation of such rules. Today one observes the increasing process of infotainment of mass media becoming more and more tabloid. They have a negative influence on realization of principle of presumption of innocence in everyday practice.

Presumption of Innocence under National and International Law

The principle of the presumption of innocence is one of the fundamental assumptions according to which Polish criminal procedure has been constructed. In the domestic reality, this presumption is declared both by constitutional and code regulations, however, the manner in which the presumption is guaranteed there is not the same, which affects the different scope of its application. The text depicts the common and differentiating elements of these regulations. In addition, the material and subjective scope of the principle of the presumption of innocence in terms of the Convention and certain legal acts of the European Union has been analysed.